


There's Only Us

by flightinflame



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Charles Xavier Needs a Hug, Christmas, Families of Choice, Gen, Pre-X-Men: Days of Future Past, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:15:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21634987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: Being alone in the mansion on Christmas, their children sent to war, is breaking Charles's heart. Luckily, one other resident remains.
Relationships: Hank McCoy & Charles Xavier
Comments: 12
Kudos: 23
Collections: Secret Mutant Madness 2019





	There's Only Us

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [Ireliss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ireliss/pseuds/Ireliss) in the [secret_mutant_madness_2019](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/secret_mutant_madness_2019) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Winter holidays in the mansion during the DoFP timeskip, can be shippy or platonic, go wild! Would love some angst but also some hope and softness.

The corridors were empty. This time last year, they had been full of laughter, and tinsel, and hope. And now there was nothing but darkness and despair, and he felt like his heart was breaking as he wheeled down them.

Charles said he took the drug to stop the voices. That was definitely true. But there was another reason, which hurt more than that. Because the drug gave a reason for the silence. It wasn't just the emptiness of the halls, and the missing children that had been sent out to die in some pointless war. It wasn't just his failure that left him silent.

He was cold. It was cold, and the halls were empty, and he missed his children, and he didn't know how many would come home. How many survived. During the days, he clung to his anger, because in the nights that anger slipped away and he was left hurting worse, crying and sobbing in frustration and helplessness.

He missed before. He missed the time when he had felt hope, and trusted that things would get better, and felt safe. He missed thinking that things would get better, having dreams of what mutantkind could some day be. It was so tempting to lose himself, in a bottle or some pills. 

He made his way to the library, where he'd once played chess and dreamed of a better future, where he'd realised his passion for teaching, where he'd thought he'd made a difference, and he started to sob. The noises that escaped him were brutal, barely human. Just pain and fear and horror, and utter helplessness.

He was lost. He knew he was lost, and he'd always been the one to help others find their way home.

He curled up in his chair, and sobbed, and tried not to listen to the concern from the other mind that occupied these vast halls.

Eventually though, late into the evening, that other mind approached, and he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, squeezing gently.  
"Professor?" Hank asked, and as always his voice was gentle. Kind. Charles almost cringed away, but after so long alone in his thoughts the touch was a comfort.

"I... I asked you not to- I don't have the school any more Hank, I don't have-"

"Charles then..." And Hank was still kind. He looked up, and saw that Hank was crouching beside him. "You can't stay here."

"I'm sorry. I just..."

"We got a letter from a few of the children. Alex and a couple of others. They have been thinking about us."

Charles nodded, and Hank sighed.

"Think you can sit on the sofa?" Hank asked, sitting down and patting the space next to him.

Charles nodded, transferring across, and resting against him. For a while they sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Eventually, Charles broke it.  
"I'm sorry Hank, I'm being selfish. You should... you should go home. Your family needs you, this time of year more than ever, I don't want to take you from them."

Hank's shoulder bumped his. A gentle gesture, but the kind of contact Hank was so free with.  
"Yeah. My family need me." He reached out, wrapping his hand around Charles's own. Hank looked human at the moment, his fingers slender, his hand delicate rather than a broad paw. But the touch either way was tender. "That's why I'm staying."

"I can't promise to be very good company." Charles admitted. "It's not that ...I mean, I'd like you to stay."

"You just think too much inside your head." Hank nodded. "I... I did something for you." He paused. "When you're ready, if you can come with me?"

Charles nodded, but permitted himself a few more seconds of being embraced, of not being alone. Then he lifted himself back into his chair, and followed Hank down towards the main hall.

He paused, staring for a moment. 

Hank had hung up tinsel there, some from the chandelier, others wrapped around the stair rails. But beyond that, there were cards. Dozens of them. They were set out across tables and mantelpieces, every one at a height that he could reach.

"What are those-"

"Like I said. A few of the students wrote... it seems they remembered us, Charles. They... they miss us." Hank hesitated, picking one up.  
'Hi Prof! Hope you have a good Christmas! Sean' He handed it over, and then turned to the next.

Charles reached out as well, staring in wonder.

He'd known that the students had cared about the school, when it had still been running. But he hadn't expected this - for so many to reach out at this time of year, and let him know they missed him.

He picked up another one.  
'Hey Professor. Happy holidays! My little brother keeps turning invisible. Hope the school opens back soon!'

He stared. Even after his failure, these children were still turning to him for help. Still trusting him with their families. He picked up card after card, fighting back tears.

Eventually, he'd read all of them, and he smiled over at Hank.  
"Thank you, my friend. I needed this."

Hank nodded. "I know." He glanced down at his watch, and smiled.  
"Happy Christmas."


End file.
